Let Me Be With You
by Phoenix Hoshika
Summary: A couple of years later and all is calm, or so it seems. Is there a link between the arrival of two visitors from Greeton and a seemingly unstoppable foe? An SO3 fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note/Disclaimer**: If I owned Star Ocean 3 I wouldn't be writing fan fiction based on it. That being said this is all for fun NOT profit. The character Sophie Silverhawk is copyrighted to Photosoph. To somewhat quote her creator; "seventy x seven years bad luck to anyone who uses this character without permission." I am not Photosoph and therefor can't be held responsible for any ill fortune that befalls those that do.

**Star****Ocean****Till The End Of Time: Let Me Be With You**

**  
By Phoenix**** Hoshika**

**Chapter One **

Somewhere in the vast kingdom of Greeton two humanoid women, Phoenix Firestar and Sophie Silverhawk, were methodically and seemingly hurriedly working on a rather complicated machine. Both women were sitting on the floor as they worked connecting the machine's wiring.

"Almost done." Phoenix said in a monotone voice that masked her excitement.

"Finished," Sophie exclaimed jumping to her feet.

"Finally." Phoenix said smiling to herself. Phoenix was a humanoid that looked and for the most part behaved like a human. With the exception of her pointed ears there were no other visible distinguishing features.

Sophie was a Featherfolk female with a very large wing span Even though Featherfolk generally had small frames that enabled them to fly short distances because of her large wings Sophie could fly farther and higher than many of her kinspeople.

"So which on of us is going to give it a test run," Phoenix asked.

"Um..." Sophie said not at all eager to be the first to test the invention.

"You chicken." Phoenix said as she paced the room with her arms folded.

"How about I turn it on and you can go in first?" Sophie suggested.

"I..." Phoenix started not wanting to admit her apprehension about the machine.

"Phoenix isn't as fearless as she claims to be." Sophie said with a small laugh.

"Pulling a map from a rather cluttered bookshelf Phoenix slammed it down on the desk startling her friend.

_"What's gotten into her?"_ Sophie wondered.

"We go in together." Phoenix said her voice full of determination.

"That sounds fine, I guess." Sophie said as she came over to look at the map. "But where are we going to go?

The two women had spent almost every waking hour of the last several months working on a teleportation device, a task that would have taken them several years if not longer to complete if it wasn't for the fact that someone else had already done the bulk of the work. The two had come across the unfinished research in the kingdom's ancient history archives while looking for completely unrelated information. Forgetting their previous project the two women immediately started work on the teleportation machine.

"How about here?" Phoenix said pointing to a random spot on the map.

"What's over there?" Sophie asked curiously.

"I have no idea, plus it may be too long of a distance to teleport on our first run. We don't want to end up in the boonies since we just can't teleport back."

"We're close to Peterny. We should be able to make it back easy enough from there and it will give us some idea of the range on this thing."

"Good thinking." Phoenix said turning on the machine.

"You think the Inventor's Guild will give our teleporter a high rating?" Sophie asked as she plugged in the coordinates.

"Why even ask that? Of course they will." Phoenix confirmed. "I hope you aren't doubting our workmanship on this thing. It should be completely harmless."

"Maybe one of us should stay behind..." Sophie hesitated.

"Everything's set to go and I'm not going in alone. Let's go!" Phoenix said running up the stairs on the machine that lead to a circular, blue, glowing platform effortlessly dragging Sophie along. As soon as they reached the platform the two disappeared.

Moments later the two reappeared in mid air over the Bequerel Mountain Path. Phoenix fell to the surface right away, but Sophie having a thin frame and hollow bones did not fall as quickly and was able to gracefully glide down. Fortunately for Phoenix she had landed on top of someone, which broke her fall and consequently protecting her from injury. Unfortunately for the poor man she landed on his back would be sore for a few days to come.

"Are you okay?" Sophie said running over to Phoenix and helping her up completely ignoring the man laying face down on the ground who was moaning in pain.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy." Phoenix answered barely able to keep her balance.

"Good because I feel like I'm going to vomit." Sophie said grabbing her stomach.

"Albel!" A blue haired man yelled running toward them. "Who are you?" He demanded drawing the sword on his back.

"Wait it was an accident." Sophie shouted.

"An accident?" The blue haired man said keeping his guard up.

"Oh please! You're just making excuses because your ambush failed." Albel said already on his feet and ready to strike.

"It's the truth." Sophie said pleadingly.

"Where did you come from?" The blue haired swordsman demanded.

"We're from Greeton." Phoenix said. "Our transport dropped us in the wrong spot. Besides do we look like the type to lurk on road sides waiting to mug anyone that passes by?"

"That doesn't really explain how you two just appeared out of nowhere, but I believe you weren't trying to attack us." The blued haired man said putting his sword away. Reluctantly Albel did the same. "By the way my name is Fayt Leingod." He said extending his hand.

"Just call me Phoenix." She said taking his hand and shaking it. "My friend here is Sophie."

"Sophie Silverhawk." Sophie said stepping forward.

"Nice to meet you." He said giving her a slight bow.

Albel stood a small distance away with his arms folded grumbling.

"Why are you guys so on edge anyway?" Phoenix asked a little suspicious of the two men.

"Only people looking for trouble come this way." Albel said.

"Figures we'd run into a couple of thugs." Phoenix said giving the ground a good kick.

"Us thugs?" Fayt uttered not knowing what else to say at the moment.

"We are not thugs!" Albel said defensively then laughed. "Who would have guessed it would start raining fools."

"Hey! You two are the ones who pulled swords on us, ya jerk, and what was that 'only people looking for trouble come here' line about? Sounds like thug talk to me." Phoenix shot back.

"What an irritating little wench! I ought to cut you where you stand." Albel said unsheathing his sword.

"You wanna piece of me? Then bring it!" Phoenix said pulling out her own sword.

"I don't have time to play with you, now get out of the way." Albel said his eyes fixed on whatever was behind Phoenix.

Feeling hot breath on her neck Phoenix turned to come face to face with a dragon. _"I guess this was the trouble he was talking about."_ Phoenix thought then sighed. "No one was talking to you, be gone! Fireball!" Phoenix shouted and a ball of molten fire suddenly appeared between her and the dragon striking it then knocking it into the sky clear out of sight.

"Hmph." Albel grunted sheathing his oversized katana.

"I was mistaken. Sorry, I called you a couple of thugs." Phoenix said sincerely.

"I guess I can forgive your foolishness this time." Albel said with a slight smile.

"Hey, where are Fayt and Sophie?" Phoenix said looking around.

"Up here!" Sophie said as she lowered Fayt to the ground. _"Man, he's heavy."_ Sophie thought rubbing her sore arms.

"You worms, running from a dragon." Albel said obvious displeased with Fayt for showing a lack of courage.

"It wasn't my idea." Fayt said looking at Sophie.

"Excuse me for trying to save your life." Sophie huffed. "Ungrateful little..." Sophie continued muttering to herself inaudibly.

"But really do we have to fight every single dragon that comes," Fayt asked putting his right hand on his hip.

"Are you saying I should have run?" Albel asked a violent flicker in his eye.

"I'm saying you probably would have if you weren't arguing with that woman."

"Hey! I have a name." Phoenix said not liking Fayt's tone of voice as he talked about her or being referred to as 'that woman'.

"Uh-oh..." Sophie quietly said as her survey of the skies took an unexpected turn.

When another argument started to break out she took to the air again just above them to wait for them to cool off, that's when she caught sight of what looked like a black cloud moving quickly across the sky. It didn't take long for her to realize the mass she saw was no cloud but a swarm of air dragons. "We've gotta fly!" Sophie said swooping down and grabbing up Fayt once again.

"Hey!" Fayt protested.

"There's a huge swarm of dragons coming this way." Sophie informed. "Would you like me to leave here so you can fight them all?" She asked her initially reluctant companion.

"Are you kidding? Let's get out of here!" Fayt said and they flew off.

"YOU WORMS!!!" What about us?" Albel screamed.

"Heh, I may not have wings but I can fly pretty fast." Phoenix said lifting off the ground. "Move it or lose it pudding boy," Phoenix said as she caught hold of Albel from behind and took to the sky.

"Do you mock me wench?" Albel snarled.

"I think I have some unnecessary luggage I need to drop." Phoenix said loosening her grip on him.

"You wouldn't." Albel said looking down at the ground with wide eyes."

"I'll let you off the hook this time." Phoenix said with a laugh. Unless he did something insane Phoenix had no intention of dropping Albel no matter how many names he called her, that is at least not from not such a high a distance. It didn't take long at all for Phoenix to catch up with Sophie who seemed to be having complications.

"You aren't going to drop me are you?" Fayt asked nervously.

"I'm trying not to." Sophie said straining.

"In any case, thanks for saving me." Fayt said as they unsteadily sailed the sky.

"You aren't out of danger yet. I still have to land without dropping you."

"I'm glad you aren't the one carrying me." Albel said confident Phoenix would not drop him- so long as he didn't insult her any more.

"Isn't that Kirlsa down there?" Fayt said looking down. "We should warn them about the dragons."

"That old coot more than likely has already assembled his men and probably even sent word to Airyglyph, but I guess I could make sure things are secure." Albel said more concerned about his hometown than he cared to show.

"Oh, good that means we get to land." Sophie said relieved and descended right away.

"Going down." Phoenix said following. _"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" _She thought as they landed just outside of town. From the sky they could see a couple of guards standing outside the town gates and didn't want to cause trouble by landing inside. Once on the ground they were immediately surround by at least two-dozen Storm Brigade soldiers.

"What the…" Fayt uttered in disbelief.

"Sir Albel?" One of the soldiers said lowering his weapon and pulling up the visor on his helm to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. "Stand down." The soldier ordered and the men moved aside.

Since the peace with the Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria had formed Woltar was not as busy as usual and was relaxing in his mansion when word about the swarm of dragons reached him. By the time Albel and Fayt returned he had already gathered the Storm Brigade and sent word to the capital about the dragons. It was strange indeed that the air dragons would suddenly take flight from their home in the Barr Mountains. While the event had peaked the seasoned soldier's curiosity his job was to protect the town of Kirlsa. The elite investigation squad composed of exclusively Dragon Brigade soldiers could do the detective work and after that was done he was sure the Black Brigade would be called in to 'take care' of any problems. On the other hand the dragons could have decided to wage war on Airyglyph, if that were true it would make for very sad times for years to come. Airyglyph's Dragon Brigade soldiers often traveled to the Barr Mountains to perform the highly dangerous deed of forming a pact with one of the air dragons through a ritual named the Ascension of Flame in which the soldier would have to defeat the dragon in a one on one battle. Victory meant forming a spiritual bond with the dragon and defeat meant being killed by it.

Unfortunately for a young Albel Nox his failure did not result in his own death but witnessing his father being burned alive in a matter of seconds. While his life was saved from his youthful folly his left arm was not, a constant reminder of that day and the sacrifice his father made to save him. Glou Nox was a former Captain of the Dragon Brigade and highly respected, he was also Count Woltar's closest friend. While the pain of his passing was close to him he did not overlook the opportunity to use the pain Albel felt from it to manipulate him, but because Woltar had a hand in raising him despite how rocky things seemed between them Albel respected and even envied the old warrior.

"Long time no see, boy." Woltar greeted as Albel entered his office.

"Just making sure you didn't foul up the town's defenses in your old age." Albel replied.

"I may be old but that has only made me wiser. You on the other hand seem to never learn. Is there a reason you're visiting with me and not assembling your own Brigades?"

"I don't need to be lectured on how to do my job from some tired old man." Albel snapped then left the room. _"Why do I even bother with that old fart?" _

Fayt, Sophie, and Phoenix were relaxing at the Iron Maiden, the town's inn. Phoenix was laying on her back in one of the lower bunks while Sophie was sitting with her legs folded one the highest one. Fayt had taken one of the lower bunks as well but was sitting on the floor since you could not sit up in the beds. Since Sophie was on the highest bunk there was just enough room for her to sit up.

"That looks uncomfortable." Sophie said looking down at her two companions.

"It is." Fayt responded. He sat with his eyes closed and his back leaning against the bed.

"Why don't you lay down?" Phoenix asked looking over at him.

"Because I don't want to bang my head when I wake up." Fayt answered.

"Then why don't you sleep up here?" Sophie inquired.

"I don't want to roll over and fall on the floor either." Fayt said opening his eyes for a moment.

"Well, I guess I will be seeing you kiddies later." Phoenix said as she crawled out of the bed.

"Where are you going," Fayt asked opening his eyes and sitting straight up.

"I can't sleep right now so I'm going to have a look around."

"Can I come? I can show you around since I've been here a few times." Fayt offered.

"Sure why not?" Phoenix said heading down the stairs.

"You guys aren't tired?" Sophie asked sleepily.

"Yeah, a little but I'm a bit restless." Fayt answered then he too left the room.

Once Fayt had gone it didn't take long for Sophie to fall soundly asleep, but that peaceful slumber was interrupted in a most unpleasant fashion. Sophie suddenly woke up to find four Storm Brigade soldiers staring at her.

"Please come with us." One of them said.

Sitting up Sophie swallowed. "What's going on," Sophie asked masking her nervousness.

"Count Woltar would like a word with you." The soldier informed. "Please come with us." He said once again and a slightly reluctant Sophie complied.

It wasn't much of a walk from the inn to Woltar's mansion and before long Sophie found herself sitting on a sofa being served tea and cookies.

"Count Woltar will see you now." A soldier informed Sophie once she had finished her tea.

"Okay." Sophie said handing the empty cup to the maid. Her legs felt like led. Why would the count of a foreign country want to see her?

"Hello there young lady," Woltar greeted cheerily. "Not often we have visitors from Greeton.

"We weren't trying to trespass. With your permission we will be on our way home as soon as possible." Sophie said her voice shaking.

"Leave? I never said anything about you leaving and I hope no one has in any way implied you do so," Woltar said as he paced behind his desk. "Are you here alone?"

"No, sir," Sophie replied shaking her head.

"Oh? So how many of you have come?"

"Just me and my friend. We don't travel outside of Greeton much." Sophie said hoping to deflect further questioning.

"I see." Woltar said sounding a bit disappointed. "Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here."

"Thank you." Sophie said giving a quick bow before leaving.

Phoenix and Fayt were sitting quietly at a table in the pub. Fayt was contently sipping away at some kind of extravagant looking ice-cream drink while Phoenix sat with her head resting on her arms fuming. "_How many more of those things is he going to drink? Just watching him is making me nauseous." _Phoenix thought.

Although it would have taken at the most fifteen minutes to walk around the small mining town it took much longer since Fayt either stopped or was stopped to talk with nearly every single person in town from the very young down to the last soldier it seemed. They would have stopped to talk to Count Woltar if they weren't turned away at the door and informed he was in a meeting. Before they knew it night had fallen.

"Hey," Phoenix said lifting her head up. "I'm going back to the inn."

"Okay, see you in the morning." Fayt said not looking up once from his drink.

"_This place sure does look creepy at night time." _Phoenix thought as she walked along. Hearing fast paced footsteps on the ground Phoenix drew her sword but not fast enough to avoid a tackle that sent her flying into an alley. Performing a summersault to avoid landing her behind Phoenix came to her feet in a crouched position. "Damn! How could I let myself get caught off guard like that?" Phoenix groaned. It was too dark to see in the alley but she could hear the footsteps coming again. "Flame burst!" Phoenix said and a small pocket of fire shot out toward the sound. The attack struck her assailant who let out a scream.

"Not bad." Came a familiar voice.

"Stagnant flames." Phoenix said and two flames came to rest in the palms of her hands illuminating the alley. "Albel?" Phoenix exclaimed surprised. "I knew you were a jerk but why are you attacking me?

"Just testing." Albel smugly replied as he stood up. "I thought you'd be better than this being a member of the Greeton military.

"Do you really think someone like me would join an army?" Phoenix said flipping him off.

"Don't insult my intelligence, fool." Albel snapped.

Phoenix sighed. "Okay, so you fond me out. Why does it matter to you so much?"

"What is a member of the Greeton military doing here?" Albel demanded.

"Oh, please like we'd give a crap about this backwater side of the continent."

"You want to say that again?" Albel said holding up his sword.

"You caught me off guard last time don't count on that happening again." Phoenix said her expression turned grim. "What I don't get is how you found out."

"Sure my specialty may be death and destruction being the caption of the Black Brigade and all, but…"

"But what?" Phoenix asked after a long pause.

"Like I'm going to tell you." Albel said folding his arms. "Let's get back to business. You're under arrest."

"What? Did you here a thing I said? Besides that do you honestly think I'm just going to let you haul me away?"

"We already have your partner." Albel said feeling rather pleased with himself. Just so you know I usually find this kind of thing a hassle but it isn't everyday spies from Greeton drop in."

"Moron! She isn't even in the military, she's just a civilian."

"Oh? I guess that would explain all the blubbering when my men took her away and here I was thinking she was a useless wimp."

"Why you, I ought to…" Phoenix said not bothering to finish what she was going say as a small fireball appeared in each of her hands.

"Do it and rest assure that liability of yours will suffer all the more," Albel said confident Phoenix wouldn't dare hurt him. "Not that you'd be able to take me down that easily, but just so we're clear try anything and she'll be the one that pays for it."

"What have done to her?" Phoenix demanded more worried over the well being of her friend than she would allow herself to show.

"Nothing yet, but that all depends on how well you behave," Albel said as he roughly put Phoenix's hands in restraints.

"I have no choice but to come willingly why are you doing this?" Phoenix asked as he put restraints on her ankles.

"Simple, public humiliation," Albel smirked as he locked a heavy metal collar around her neck that had a fourteen foot chain attached to it. Restraints, a chain, and a heavy metal collar all of which he seemed have pulled out of nowhere.

"It's the middle of the night and this place is practically a ghost town now except for the pub." Phoenix said pointing out the obvious.

"It will be mid afternoon by the time we reach the capital. It would be nice to wait until daylight but I don't feel like babysitting any more than I have to, now move it," Albel said pushing Phoenix forward.

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

**Star Ocean Till the End of Time: Let Me Be With You**

**Chapter two**

**By Phoenix Hoshika**

Sophie was sitting on her bunk contently playing a game of solitar when a small group of Black Brigade soldiers entered the room. Sophie looked up from her game. An uneasy feeling immediately went down her spine. "What's going on?" She asked quietly.

"You're under arrest." One of the soldiers said. "Come down or we'll take you down."

"Shut up, fool." Albel said entering the room coming to stand in front of the troops before he spoke again. "Listen up maggots, you are to take the prisoner to headquarters. This wench is my prey so if I even suspect any of you worms have laid a finger on her you will have to deal with me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" All the soldiers responded.

Looking over his shoulder Albel gave Sophie a cold stare. "Don't make me come up there."

"_What are they going to do to me?" _Sophie thought shaking. "_I have to get out of here, but I'm too close to the ceiling and there is no window big enough for me to fly through. The only way out is through those guys and they expect me just to hand myself over to them? I'm not going anywhere with them, at least not willingly." _Sophie thought clenching her fists. "If you want me come get me." Sophie bravely said despite her quivering voice.

"Yaargh!" Albel shouted as he jumped up and split the bunk down the middle with his sword, missing Sophie by a hair. Grabbing her with his claw he threw her at the soldiers. Without a word the soldiers quickly exited the room.

Downstairs the innkeeper stood behind the counter sweat dropping as she listened to the commotion above. "_What are they doing up there? Whatever it is they better have the money to pay for repairs." _She thought. Silently she watched the soldiers as they came down and left the inn.

"What are you looking at?" Albel snapped at the young woman.

"How am I supposed to run this place after you guys just wrecked it?" The innkeeper sternly asked.

"Put it on my tab." Albel said then left.

"_What does he think this is?"_ The innkeeper thought fuming.

Later when Fayt finally returned to the inn there was a closed sign in the window of the locked door.

"They can't be serious." Fayt said then knocked on the door. "_I don't think anyone is in there." _Fayt thought shaking his head. "Well that's just great. Where am I supposed to stay now?"

Two Days Later

Sophie lay on the floor of the prison cell watching a roach scurry by. It had been two days since she had been taken to the Kirlsa Training Facility, a structure notorious for the many executions that had taken place there, recalling the day she was arrested. The last thing she remembered seeing was Albel's sword above her head. Sophie had fainted before the blade struck completely destroying the buck she was on and was unconscious up until the soldiers locked the cell she was in. "_I wonder how Phoenix is doing? Was she taken prisoner too?" _Sophie wondered as she played with a spider that was for some reason trying to crawl up her hand. "_That Albel man seemed like trouble from the beginning, but that Fayt guy seemed nice enough. I wish I had gone with them instead of taking a nap. Then again those two are friends he probably took Phoenix away right under my nose." _Sophie thought as she pushed the spider away and sat up. "_How long are they going to keep me in here? Am I the only one being held prisoner here?"_

"Hello, is anyone there!" Sophie shouted but no one answered. "If anyone one is there please answer me!" Sophie shouted again into the dank prison. For a while it was silent until a giant sword struck the bars of Sophie's cage startling her.

"The only company you're going to have are the rats and roaches." The guard snarled. "The only reason we haven't feed you to the monsters down below is because the commander ordered us not to do anything to you until he was done with you."

"What do you mean? What is he going to do to me?"

"Probably torture you until you die. They don't call him 'Wicked' for nothing." The guard sighed. "That is if he doesn't decide to just dice you up instead. Either way it'll really suck for us cuz we're the one's who are gonna get stuck hauling off your dead carcass… or mopping up the pieces. Damn shame. I was hoping to pluck a few of those feathers of yours and stuff my pillow with them. You see it's been kind of flat lately and now I have this kink in my neck right around here." The guard said tilting his head to the side and pointing to his chain mail covered neck. "You see they won't be any use to me with blood all over them." The guard cursed again, then laughed when he caught a glance at the horrified look on Sophie's face. "Enjoy the rest of your life while you can." He said laughing as he walked away.

Down in the dungeon of Airyglyph Castle Phoenix had been locked in the interrogation chamber. She wondered how much longer it would be before they started torturing her and thought it odd nothing had happened since she had been there. "_What's taking them so long? What are they waiting for?"_ Phoenix thought then cursed. "_If only I knew where the they put Sophie I could just break out of this place."_ Phoenix thought groaning angrily as she pulled on the restraints that locked her hands in place above her head. Phoenix looked up sharply when the door opened.

"Lock the door." Albel said to the Dragon Brigade soldier behind him. Without a word the man turned and left the room the lock clicking heavily behind him. "You sure are lively for someone in your position." Albel said when he saw the furious expression on Phoenix's face. "Hmph, this won't be so boring after all." He said then unlocked the restraints.

"What? Not going to have one of your flunkies do the interrogating," Phoenix asked rubbing her wrists.

"I can't afford leaving you to someone else, they'd probably go too easy on you."

"So why are you letting me go?"

"Who said anything like that?" Albel scuffed.

"Oh, now I get it. You're still sore about losing even after attacking me off guard." Phoenix chuckled. "Fine by me since I've been itching for a rematch as well. There'd be no way you could have gotten a hit off me if I was on my guard."

"Ha! Why should I be sore over losing to a witch."

"What did you call me," Phoenix questioned angrily.

"You heard me. You talk big but you don't have the strength to back it up."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Fool, isn't it obvious?"

"And what about you? I bet you even sleep with that oversized sword you're hauling around."

"I don't need this to take care of you." Albel said removing the sword and laying it to the side.

Phoenix scuffed. "Hand to hand is my specialty. I hope you're prepared," She said taking a fighting stance.

"Who do you think you are talking to? One spark and you'll be eating this claw of mine." Albel said holding up his gantlet.

"Since your fake arm there doubles as a weapon one scratch from that thing and I'll barbeque you. Do we have a deal?"

"One more thing." Albel said folding his arms.

"Ugh! What?" Phoenix said falling out of her fighting stance.

"Don't try anything dirty."

"You've got to be kidding! Albel the Wicked worried about me fighting dirty?" Phoenix laughed.

Albel smirked. "So, you've heard."

"Yeah, I've been here long enough, and now I'm getting impatient." Phoenix said resuming her fighting stance. "I thought you came down here to fight not chat it up with me."

"Oh? So, you weren't even going to try to pick me for information? A reckless move for someone who's supposed to be head of Greeton intelligence."

"You know you're really starting to piss me off. How do you know so much about me? Besides that, whatever I need to know I can just beat it out of you," Phoenix shouted as she reached out to strike Albel with the palm of her hand and missed.

"That's my line," he said dodging Phoenix's attack and grabbing her arm Albel struck Phoenix in the back with his elbow knocking her to the floor. Phoenix quickly rolled out of the way to avoid getting stomped on. The fight hadn't started good and he already had her on the run.

Above in the audience chamber the Woltar was greeting the king who had summoned him to the capital to discuss the situation at Kirlsa.

"Has anything changed since I last heard from you?" Airyglyph asked from his throne.

"The dragons have not come near the town, but more of them seem to be arriving in the Bequerel Mountains by the minute."

"Hmm, perhaps they are gathering for an all out assault but why?" Airyglyph wondered out loud. "We need to move quickly. We will meet in the war room in fifteen minutes." The King said standing up. "Woltar Albel is in the dungeon interrogating the prisoner. Will you inform him?"

"Yes, your majesty." Woltar said then left.

Once Woltar had gone Airyglyph went into the room where he kept Odd-Eye, the second most powerful dragon on the planet.

"Odd-Eye tell me. Do you have any idea what is going on?" Airyglyph asked the large air dragon.

"Maybe they have declared war on the humans for some reason. Maybe something terrible has happened in Ursa. I have told you all of this before." Odd-Eye replied.

"I know old friend." Airyglyph replied sighing. "War with the dragons may be inevitable."

"It may very well come to that, nonetheless I will fight with you to the bitter end to protect the people of this land. That is what we dragons here have decided."

"Then I am glad to have you as an ally." Airyglyph said patting Odd-Eye on the nose.

Phoenix fell to the cold stone floor with a thud. Albel had come out victorious. "Hmph, don't tell me you've already giving up." Albel said to Phoenix who was still laying face down on the floor. "I was hoping you'd last longer than this."

"_I can't let him win."_ Phoenix thought as she struggled to get off the floor. She had done her best against the Black Brigade captain, but it was not enough. Albel had beaten her thoroughly not only hurting her body but her pride as well. "_It can't end like this!" _Phoenix thought tears and sweat streaming down her face. She had only made it to her hands and knees before Albel kicked her down again knocking her on her back. Phoenix cried out in pain as she tried to move again, her ribs had been broken.

"I'm done playing. Time to get down to business." Albel said kneeling down and grabbing her throat. "Silence." Albel said and immediately Phoenix felt a knot in her throat.

"_Oh, no._ _I can't use runes now." _Phoenix thought wheezing as she struggled to breath.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Phoenix asked through labored breaths.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. It would be too easy for me at this point." Albel said firmly keeping his hand on her throat. "I rather hear you scream and beg me to." He said holding up his gantlet. Before Albel could sink his claws into Phoenix's already damaged body the door to the chamber suddenly opened.

"Stop fooling around boy and come with me." Woltar said sternly from the door.

"You're interrupting at the wrong time old man." Albel said still keeping his attention on Phoenix who had reached up to grab his right arm with both of her hands in a futile effort to release herself from his grasp.

Walking over to them Woltar looked down then gave a small quiet groan. "We have more important matters to deal with at the moment. Besides if you continue at this rate she'll die. Exactly how do you plan on interrogating a corpse?" Woltar said having quickly analyzed the situation. "Now get up from there and stop wasting time." The old warrior commanded then abruptly turned and left the room.

"Hmph!" Albel snorted standing up. "Guess I got too carried away." He said looking down at Phoenix. "You won't be of no use to me if you're dead." Albel said then left as well.

"What's going on?" Albel asked Woltar as they walked up the stairs.

"We have been summoned to the war room to discuss what to do about the dragons that have overrun the Bequerel Mountains." Woltar informed.

"So, he's finally decided to go to war." Albel said sounding more anxious to fight the dragons than he actually was. Every soldier in Airyglyph had an infinity toward dragons and Albel was no different. Though he forfeited taking his place as captain of the Dragon Brigade in his father's place by refusing to join with a dragon he had no desire to face them in war. Even though his previous venture into the Ursa Mountains as a guide for Fayt and his friends had forced him into combat with many dragons, who met their end by his blade, he considered the action no better than slaughtering them in their sleep.

Abruptly stopping Woltar turned and looked Albel straight in the eyes.

"What's your problem old man?" Albel snapped, he had almost walked into Woltar when he suddenly stopped moving.

"If you fail us in the middle of battle you won't have to worry about a dragon finishing you off." Woltar sternly said his kindly face turned grim for a second.

"Please, just who do you think you're talking to old man? That kind of crap may work on those worms you're leading but don't bet on being able to manipulate me that easily." Albel scuffed.

Woltar chucked. "Well, then show them no mercy like you did that poor defenseless young woman down there and this problem should be taken care of in no time." Woltar said as he turned around and continued walking.

"Defenseless? Oh, come on!" Albel exclaimed.

"The young lady has been deprived of food, water, and rest for three days. It would be a shame if it got out you beat a fatigued and starving woman to death." Woltar said in a low tone as they stopped once again.

"You keep saying 'woman' as if I'm supposed to care. Only a fool would be blinded by an enemy's gender. You are saying we should have held back on Aquaria just because they had an army of nothing but women? They would have long since run us over. She got what she deserved." Albel said appearing calmer than he actually was.

"I am not so easily swayed that someone like you would have to tell me that boy, but apparently you need to still be told to pay attention to detail. Are you that blood thirsty you would have still wasted time with that so-called integration of yours if you knew she was in that condition?" Woltar asked keeping a steady eye on Albel.

"I had to do something with my spare time." Albel said then walked on past Woltar.

Albel was fuming even though he was doing his best to hide it Woltar could still tell that the young man was so angry steam could have come pouring out of his ears. "_Good." _Woltar thought satisfied. The seasoned commander was a master manipulator for him it wasn't whether or not a person was easily manipulated but knowing what buttons to push. Even a fool would be difficult to control if one didn't know which strings to pull. With Albel that riled up there was no way he'd show even a bit of mercy in the upcoming war against the dragons.

Back at the Kirlsa training facility the sun had started to wane in the sky. Sophie had finished a merger dinner of one small piece of stale bread and a mouth full of water a few hours before and was laying on the floor in a hungry daze listening to the sound of her stomach growling. Sophie was so out of it she didn't even notice her cell door had been opened. "_What a nice smell." _Sophie thought as she lay with her eyes closed. "_It smells like the ocean." _She thought opening her eyes to see a pair of geta. Looking up past a pair of reddish brown hamaka her she could see muscles upon muscles. "_Wow, if only this guy were here to save me." _Sophie thought imagining a young and handsome face belonged to the well exercised torso she was starring at.

"Don't worry we've come to rescue you." The man said.

His voice snapped Sophie out of her fantasizing and she looked up at his face.

"Can you stand?" The man asked genuinely concerned about her well-being.

"I…" Sophie said then fainted from pure shock, her hero turned out to be an old man.

"I guess that is a no." Adray said hoisting Sophie up over his shoulder. "Shake a leg kid time to run." He said to Fayt who was fending off a couple of robots as he ran out of the cell and down the hall.

"Phew! When did they get these things?" Fayt wondered after finishing off the last one. "_Must have been when Biwigg and his men came. I better catch up to them before he gets lost or something."_ Fayt thought taking off after them.

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**Star Ocean Till The End Of Time: Let Me Be With You**

**By Phoenix Hoshika**

**Chapter 3**

The escape from the Kirlsa Training Facility was strenuous, at least for Sophie and irritating for Fayt who had to catch up to Adray who had gotten lost on the second floor. Having been to the massive ruins twice before Fayt had become quite familiar with the maze like structure plus it also helped that he had a quad scanner, a very useful piece of technology that Adray didn't have.

"_For an old guy he sure moves pretty fast."_ Fayt thought stopping to catch his breath. _"Hope he hasn't gotten himself into any trouble. Why couldn't he just wait?"_ Fayt thought frustrated as he braced himself against the wall with his right hand. Hearing Sophie scream he stood straight up. "It came from that direction." Fayt said to himself then took off running.

Sophie doubled back falling to the floor when a toad fighter suddenly jumped out and attacked them. "So you think you've found yourself easy prey, do you?" Adray said blocking the attack with his sheathed sword. "If you had paid more attention to my physique than my gray hair you would have thought twice before spawning such a shameless attack. "Chaos tide." Adray shouted crashing into the monster defeating it instantly.

"There you are," Fayt exclaimed running into the room they were in. He stopped at the door huffing and puffing. Sophie remained on the floor behind Adray unable to stand. They had been attacked nearly a dozen times by various monsters and her nerves were shot.

"I got lost. What took you so long?" Adray asked Fayt who was taking his time walking over to them.

"Why didn't you wait?" Fayt asked angrily.

"No need to get upset I thought you were right behind me, until that first monster attacked. What were you doing back there? If you were having a hard time you should have said so."

"I wasn't having a hard time!" Fayt said after catching his breath.

"What's going on?" Sophie asked still weak in the knees from fright.

"It's like I said before, we came to save you." Adray answered.

"That's right." Fayt confirmed. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, but what about my friend? What happened to her?"

"She was taken to the capital, but don't worry my friends have already gone to help her." Fayt said kneeling down in front of her. "Sophie, I know you've been through a lot, but we need you to come back to Aquios with us."

"Why?" Sophie asked apprehensively.

"You and Phoenix are the last two people to enter this region before all contact with Greeton was cut off." Fayt said.

"For some reason Greeton has completely sealed off its borders and cut communications. Not even people claiming to live there can get back in unless they have military I.D. or are accompanied by someone who does and is willing to vouch for them." Adray told her. Though, I can't imagine anyone from the Greeton armed forces having any reason to venture out to this side of the world unless they were planning an invasion or something. It's only a handful of folks, but it's a shame they can't return to their homes. I wonder what's going on?" Adray said his thoughts trailing off for a second.

"And you think we have something to do with it," Sophie questioned.

"Maybe." Adray admitted.

"If that's how it is I don't see how I'll be any better off going with you guys.

"We honestly don't know what to think, but the Queen has expressed interest in you and requested we bring you back to Aquios to meet with her." Fayt said.

"In any case it would be much safer for you if you came with us." Adray said growing weary of the conversation.

"He's right." Fayt agreed. "It would be better if you are as far away from Airyglyph territory as possible right now, believe me. I've experienced first hand how they treat their prisoners."

"I don't understand. I'm just an inventor. What would they even want with me in the first place?" Sophie wondered outloud.

"From the looks of things here they seem to be developing their technology, so if what you say is true then they may be after any knowledge you have that will help them advance even further." Fayt theorized. "But right now that isn't important. We need to get out of here first and then over to Aquios." Fayt said drawing his sword. "From the looks of things we won't have to worry about having to fight any soldiers but the place is over run with monsters and machines."

Sophie had not noticed that another monster had crept into the room and almost had a heart attack when she saw it. "This is starting to get old fast." Fayt said as a ball of flame appeared in his right hand. "Adray are you tired of being in here as much as I am?" Fayt asked looking over his shoulder at old warrior as he helped Sophie to her feet.

"Hm." Adray grunted nodding his head.

"I'm getting ready to tear through this place so get ready." Fayt said as he touched his sword with the flames setting it ablaze then placed his hand back on the hilt firmly gripping it.

"You don't look like much of a sprinter, that will not do, that will not do at all." Adray said picking Sophie up."

"Hey!" Sophie protested.

"Let's go!" Fayt shouted as he took off running toward the monster, he didn't even stop for a nanosecond as he sliced through the creature burning it to ash that stuck to the bottom of Adray's getta as he ran behind him. The duo ran through the ruins at lightening speed, Fayt slashing and burning to a crisp anything that got in their way. They were a small distance away from the Training Facility before they stopped running, the blade of Fayt's sword still wrapped in flames as he stood with it to his side. Fayt's green eyes flickered from left to right looking for potential attackers. Seeing no threats in sight Fayt calmed down and the flames vanished. Sheathing the sword Fayt bent over with his hands on his kneels panting heavily. "I've got to sit down." Fayt said through his panting as he brought himself to the ground.

"I suppose… we can… rest for a bit." Adray said through labored breaths after placing Sophie on her feet then sat on the ground as well with his legs folded infront he sat hunched over breathing heavily.

Sophie's heart was pounding she had never witnessed such a terrifying display of power in her life. The stench of the burned monster flesh mixed with the smell of burnt wiring from the robots Fayt destroyed lingered in her nostrils. Sophie watched Fayt as he sat leaning back on his hands gasping for air and couldn't help but look upon the magical swordsman that had come to her aid with amazement and fear.

"Cliff to Fayt, come in." Came a voice out of thin air.

"Yeah, I'm here." Fayt said speaking into a device that fit perfectly into the palm of his hand."

"Did you get the girl?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then, get ready for transport."

"Understood." Fayt said then put the device away and stood up.

Adray stood up kicking off the layers of ask on the bottom of his shoes. "Well, this has been an exciting run, but I think I'll pass on riding in your flying ship and head back on foot if you don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Fayt asked a little stunned that Adray would pass on the convenience that traveling onboard the Diplo would provide cutting a journey that would take days down to a few mire minutes.

"I have some things I need to take care of before heading back." Adray answered his mind bent toward Aries.

"Okay then have it your way." Fayt said then turned his attention toward Sophie. "Are you ready?" Sophie nodded as the young man came to stand beside her. "Two to transport." Fayt said into the small hand held device and in an instant they vanished from Adray's sight.

Sophie stood on the transporter amazed and disappointed. _"I can't believe it! All the time and restless nights I spent trying to figure out how build such a machine and these people have already developed and perfected one already! How can I ever hope to patant something that's already in existence? I'll never make a breakthrough invention at this rate!" _Sophie thought then begin to mentally berate herself.

"Hey, is she okay?" Cliff whispered to Fayt who had already stepped off the transporter. Sophie stood with her back to them quietly grumbling to herself.

Sophie sweetdropped when she heard the question. _"I know I maybe acting a bit strange to them but do they honestly think I wouldn't be able to hear them in this tiny room?"_

"A little upset but otherwise I'm fine." Sophie said turning around to face them.

"Oops, sorry about that." Cliff said shrugging off the tiny pinch of shame he felt. "Welcome aboard. We'll be over Aquios in a few minutes, but since you're here you should visit the sickbay and have the doctor take a look at you. You're friend is there too, but she isn't awake yet."

"The sickbay isn't that far, it's the first door on the left. I'll show you." Fayt said stepping forward but was knocked aside by Cliff. _"What the hell?" _Fayt wondered when he found himself laying on the floor.

"I was a little rude before so I'll show you where it is… as an apology." Cliff said even though he didn't honestly feel he had anything to apologize for.

"Uh, thanks." Sophie said sweet dropping.

"What are you doing down there Fayt? If you need to rest you can use one of the empty rooms below deck." Cliff said not realizing what he had down.

"Yeah, I think I should no thanks to you." Fayt said standing up rubbing his head. He left the transport room slightly fuming.

"She was in pretty bad condition when we took her aboard, but it wasn't anything the doctor over there couldn't handle." Cliff said gesturing to a short haired woman who was looking down at what appeared to be a clipboard as they entered the sickbay.

"Don't make it sound so easy. Her genetic make up is unlike anything we have in our database. We're lucky I could do what I did. Take a look at this." The doctor said showing the clipboard to Cliff. The seemingly low-tech item was actually a small computer. When the doctor tapped the surface a small holographic screen appeared in a language Sophie could not understand.

"Now that is interesting." Cliff said after peering down at the screen for a moment.

"_I don't Phoenix would appreciate it if she knew what they were doing right now." _Sophie thought as looked down at her friend. Her eyebrow rose when she thought she heard her say something. "Phoenix?" Sophie said leaning over her.

"I'm gonna kill him." Was the faint mumble she heard coming from the woman's lips.

"Hm? She's awake." The doctor said she and Cliff looking up from the clipboard that was tracking Phoenix's vital signs.

Phoenix sat up groaning. "Ugh, my head hurts." She said not yet aware of where she was or of anyone that was around her.

"Besides you're head, how are you feeling," the doctor asked.

"Huh? Who?" Phoenix said looking up to see a brown haired woman with green rings around her neck. "What?" She said looking over at Cliff noticing the same ring pattern on his neck as well.

"Am I dead?" Phoenix murmured not yet noticing Sophie.

"No, but if you were this would be a pretty poor excuse for a Heaven don't you think?" Cliff said.

"Heh, yeah you're right. Who are you people anyway?" Phoenix said having come fully to her senses.

"We're friends of Fayt." Cliff said and as soon as the words were out of his mouth Fayt entered the room. "Well I'll be, where were you?"

"I ran into Leiber." Fayt answered.

"Oh, boy. How did that go?" Cliff asked almost certain something unpleasant had happened.

"Not good." Fayt answered not caring to go into the details of the encounter.

"Figures. Don't hold it against him okay?" Cliff said rubbing his head as ways to deal with the heartbroken man ran through his mind.

For years Leiber had harbored deep feelings for Maria, but when he finally had gathered the courage to tell her Maria turned him down. Leiber knew he was hoping against hope, but he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he didn't at least try to win her over. Knowing all along the reason Maria turned him down fostered a vengefulness toward the man Maria's affections were bent toward, a vengefulness that was intensified when he learned that same person had rejected Maria's feelings for him. Maria was like a goddess to Leiber and Fayt had committed the unforgivable sin of breaking her heart. Shaking his head Cliff shrugged. Perhaps he should have considered things a bit more carefully before bringing Fayt aboard, he certainly didn't want any conflict on the ship, but it was too late for that. While he felt bad for Leiber Cliff was more concerned about him screwing up while on the job or even worse redirecting his pent-up anger toward him. He'd have to deal with Leiber's unstable emotional state and fast. "We should be over Aquios now. You guys can transport down. I'll catch up to you later." Cliff said as he left the room.

"Transport down to Aquios?" Phoenix said looking directly at Fayt. "What is going on?" She asked frowning her intense gaze fixed on the blue haired man.

Fayt sweat dropped. _"She's starting to give me the creeps." _Fayt thought then spoke. "I'm sorry for all the confusion, but you'll have to trust me."

"Do I have a choice?" Phoenix said looking away. _"No explanation at all and he expects me to trust him. Not that it matters something tells me he is the least of my worries. I don't like this feeling not one bit."_ Phoenix thought as she hopped off the bed.

"Alright then, let's go." Fayt said and the trio begin to file out of the room.

Meanwhile in Airyglyph all brigades were locked in fierce battle with the beings they first thought to be dragons. Even the king was taking part in the fighting. Oddeye glided through the air stealthily taking out what appeared to be a horrid of earth bound dragons. Flames spewed from his open mouth blanketing the creatures below in flames annihilating them instantly. Swooping upward Oddeye circled the battlefield spitting balls of flame wherever he could find a clear shot. Airyglyph rode on his back slicing through the onslaught of what looked like air dragons that tried to block their assault on the ones below with his sword. It had been quite some time since the pair had seen battle but it was clear that neither had grown rusty in their skills, even so it was not enough to prevent the heavy casualties they were taking. While the air forces were fairing better than those on the ground the might of the Airyglyph military was quickly waning with the drop of each soldier. Even the most fierce and skilled warriors were having a tough time. Battle plans fell apart like burnt paper in the face of their new enemy. "I will not be slain by you demons!" Woltar shouted as he stood his ground slicing and dicing any adversary that came his way, but that was all he could do. The seasoned warrior was being assaulted from all directions and even he knew it was a matter of time before his strength failed him. Albel weaved through the swarms of demons ducking and dodging attacks while landing fatal blows whenever he could, but even he was becoming exhausted. _"I can't give up!" _He thought bitterly.

From above Airyglyph grit his teeth as he watched the bodies of his men pile up on the ground turning the rust colored dust a deep red with their blood. Perhaps it would only be a matter of time before his kingdom fell but Airyglyph could not stand to lose anymore men, at least not this day. "Retreat!" Airyglyph began calling out over and over again. Catching sight of Woltar the king swooped down and Oddeye caught him in his claws and what was left of the dragon brigade began to the same thing picking up as many Black and Storm Brigade soldiers as their dragons could carry while still making a hasty retreat. "Where's Albel?" Airyglyph asked after pulling Woltar up onto Oddeye's back.

"I don't see him anywhere." Woltar said as his keen eyes searched the ground.

"Damn you! Die!" Albel growled as he clawed at an air demon that had swooped down and grabbed him up, but that only caused the creature to sink its claws deeper into him piercing the thick mesh armor we wore. In desperation Albel sliced at the demon's ankles with his sword using all the strength he could muster taking its feet clear off. Before he could fall he gabbed onto one of its legs that was spewing thick black goo and flipped himself onto its back. Raising bother his sword and gantlet Albel brought them both down onto the demon dragon's thick neck chopping its head off. The demon began to fall to the ground swerving and jerking through the sky as Albel tried to steady the dead body he was riding. He thought he could use the carcass to cushion his fall but as he descended the demon's body began to disintegrate and soon Albel found himself in a free fall. _"So, this is how it's going to end?" _Albel thought his strength completely drained. He closed his eyes accepting his fate, but they snapped open again when he felt a searing pain in his left leg. He was sure it was one of the air demons seeking to tear him limb from limb. A sudden surge of energy shot through him, perhaps he'd take out one more demon before death greeted him. Looking up into the face of the monster that sunk his teeth into him his fierce expression turned to puzzlement. "It's you!" He exclaimed.

Oddeye hissed in disgust as Albel's blood dripped onto his tongue. "Hold on just a little longer. We'll be landing soon." Airyglyph said as they soared swiftly through the sky.

Albel let himself go limp in the dragon's mouth and laughed as he did. He'd live to fight another day it seemed and another day was all he needed to seek his revenge on the demons that slayed so many of his countrymen.

To be continued…


End file.
